Carnegie's Lounge: a quiet place to talk

November 09, 1990|By Mike Giuliano

Not everybody is into the high-velocity conversations and dance floor moves at Warfields, but those who want an alternative to that club's bright neon and happy noise need not even leave the Sheraton Towson.

Only a glass hotel wall separates Warfields from its more sedate sister club, Carnegie's Lounge (a k a the Lobby Bar).

"We have an older, more business-type crowd at Carnegie's than at Warfields," says bar manager Lisa Dow. "We're quieter and so it's easy to hold a conversation here."

Although not named for anybody in particular, it doesn't hurt that Carnegie's Lounge may remind you of the business acumen of Andrew Carnegie. Well-heeled Towson businessmen and hotel guests on expense accounts frequent this place. They slide up to the bar in amply-upholstered wheeled wing chairs wide enough to accommodate the most prosperous executive.

If somebody is closing a deal here, your chances of hearing about it are good. That's because there isn't much sound other than the clinking of glasses. Even the TV set over the bar has the volume turned down so low that the tense headlines from Kuwait seem calm.

Beyond its appeal for biz whizzes and pre-dinner drinkers, this lounge also has been pulling in people who come to see Lou Voir, a singer/pianist who -- with the help of several keyboards -- does big band material all by himself. There are seats placed right around the curve of the piano for those who want a close perch for his performances Tuesday through Saturday nights from 7 p.m. until midnight.

Those who feel like swinging can do so on a postage stamp-sized dance floor.